The Hiccup Switch
by Entwinedlove
Summary: One-shot. / A potions mishap causes Bucky and Draco to have an uncomfortable lunch.


Written for Marvelously Magical Fanfiction's June Roll-a-Drabble. My rolls were: Bucky Barnes, Draco Malfoy, and superpower/magic swap.

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Bucky was eating lunch with Steve, his girlfriend Hermione, and her coworker Draco Malfoy. Malfoy had had a rough day at work when some potion or other had blown up in his face. His hair had been singed so bad he was told that hair-regrowth potion wouldn't work on it. He'd had to get his hair cut regulation-short and he was grumpy. Bucky thought it was hilarious but he wasn't going to laugh at the kid. He'd seen some pretty spectacular jinxes and curses come out of Hermione's wand when she would train with the rest of the Avengers and Bucky didn't want this Malfoy boy to test his creativity when it came to spellcasting.

Bucky was starting on his second round of thick artesian sandwiches when Malfoy hiccuped so violently his body shook and his belongings spilt out of his pockets. His wand had dropped to the floor and rolled towards Bucky. Bucky leaned down to the left and with his metal hand he picked it up. There was a sudden flare of pain up his spine and deep inside the arm; pain he hadn't felt except when they'd first cut off what remained of his arm and attached the new one. He grunted loud enough for Steve to look over at him and give him those concerned eyes. Bucky shook his head and dropped the wand on the table between their plates.

"Merlin, I'm ravenous," Malfoy muttered. He raised his hand and flagged down a waitress. "Hey, I'm... can I get another, umm, I don't know, everything?"

"Everything? Of your order, sir?" the waitress asked, confused.

"No, no, just everything on the table. Don't worry about the price. I'm really hungry," he said.

Bucky was feeling the opposite. He'd lost his appetite as the pain had flared and now he sat back with his left arm curled protectively against his body. The ache had eased a little but he didn't want to move that arm and make it worse.

"Continue with your story, Draco," Hermione urged. She had a look of concentration on her face like she was trying to end world hunger with a couple of goats and a field of rice.

"Like I was saying," Malfoy started in again, even as the waitress brought the first of several more plates of food. He dug in and started shovelling like he was a super soldier. "Every few moments I would just lose my magic. I couldn't hold any spells and all the potions after that first explosion went off Stasis and I couldn't keep up. In the hour after that, I had thirteen more potions explode at critical moments."

He paused to shovel more food in and swallowed a large bite. The kid had manners at least. Bucky would have just kept talking with his mouth full, well, unless he'd been trying to impress a dame. His Ma had tried to teach him manners but he'd always been selective about who got a show of them.

Malfoy hiccuped again. The aching pain in Bucky's back and arm vanished and Malfoy looked miserable. "Why did I order so much food? I don't normally eat this much..."

Bucky started eating again, disappointed that his fancy sandwich had gone cold.

Steve and Hermione were conversing between themselves, softly, and only then did Bucky start hearing it. Hermione was whispering, "I don't know. I've never heard of someone losing their magic, even temporarily. I don't think it's _going_ anywhere, though. It's like the Law of Conservation of Energy, magic can't be destroyed or created. I just need to get him back to the Tower, I bet isolating him or semi-isolating him and using some of Tony or Bruce's tech, I might be able to figure out where it's—"

Malfoy hiccuped again, violently enough to knock into the table. His fork, his wand, and two of the too many plates on the table went crashing down to the ground. "Oh, no. I wanted that," Malfoy said, sounding disheartened. A waitress heard the noise and came over to clean up the mess.

The pain had flared back up in Bucky's back but he bit his lip and leaned down to pick up the kid's wand again. To distract himself from the pain and Malfoy from his ever-changing appetite, Bucky tried to get the story going again. It was better than the weird quiet coming from Hermione and Steve where he was sure they were whispering again but he couldn't hear them.

"So you're saying even a simple," Bucky said, waving the wand still in his hand, "I don't know, _Accio menu_! Would—holy shit!" At his attempted spell, a menu came flying across the open courtyard where they were eating and smacked into his forehead. Bucky blinked at the wand in his hand and rubbed at the spot on his head where the menu had hit him with the other. "What just happened?"

"I think this proves my theory that Draco's magic isn't going anywhere. It's just getting transferred to someone else for the time being. Now we just need to know the trigger—"

"Why am I so hungry? And why are you yelling?" Malfoy asked her.

"Oh," Hermione said from across the table, "Bucky?" He looked up at her to find her scrutinizing him. "I don't think the magic is the only thing transferring. You're holding your metal arm odd, is it hurting?"

"Yeah, just a bit."

"It seems like your super soldier abilities switched with Draco's magic. Do you think—"

Malfoy hiccuped again.

"That's it," Bucky said as the ache eased. "Here, take your wand, make sure you're not playing musical chairs with what makes us enhanced." He handed the wand to Malfoy who took it and flicked a quick spell that made the wand light up like a torch. Bucky stood and pulled a couple of twenties from his wallet. "I'm leaving before he hiccup–switches us again. I'll meet you guys back at the Tower!"


End file.
